Flags of Convenience:
The largest shipping registries are Panama, Liberia, Greece, Marshall Islands and the Bahamas,
Approximately 6,300 sail under the Panamanian flag, making Panama the largest. The Greek-controlled fleet is at almost 90 million gross tons.
The Marshall Islands is fourth with 1, 500 vessels and 37 million tons. Bahamas has 1,500 vessels at 27 million tons.
Other significant flags include Cyprus and Malta

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28.2.11

The United States military “is in the planning and preparing mode” on Libya, and will be able to provide the full range of options for national leaders, Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Col. Dave Lapan said here today.

The U.S. military is moving naval and air forces to the region, he said.

President Barack Obama asked the military to prepare these options as the situation in Libya gets worse. News reports indicate while Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi is attacking rebels in and around the capital of Tripoli, anti-regime forces hold the east.

In a Feb. 26 call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Obama said: “When a leader’s only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now,” according to the White House.

The Defense Department has not been directly tasked for any mission, Lapan said.

“We have planners working various contingency plans,” he said. “It’s safe to say as a part of that, we’re re-positioning forces to provide for that flexibility. We are re-positioning forces in the region to provide options and flexibility.”DoD

Another option [ for Bulgarians in Libya] is to sign up for the French battle frigate Tourville from the port of Benghazi. For that, nationals have to contact the Consulate of Sweden in Benghazi, with details as follows:

27.2.11

The British SAS and SBS may have been landed in Libya by HMS Cumberland when it docked in Benghazi on February 24 and then fanned south into the country's huge desert.

The manoeuvre echoes second world war strategies by British commanders when units of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) mounted covert daring strikes in North Africa against enemy positions and supply dumps.

A number of the compounds where oil workers were staying were reported to have been under siege by local militia forces, SAS scoured the country for a suitable landing point – a central meeting point – from where the oil workers would be taken for rescue is Somehow British special forces managed to placate local militia, most likely by negotiation, and then succesfully rounded up the oil workers from their bases and transported them to the runway.

Hours before the daring operation took place the Ministry of Defence confirmed it had "pre-positioned assets" for a rescue operation. Reports claimed that there may be up to 500 Britons still in compounds scattered across the Libyan desert, prompting speculation that another rescue mission may be required.

A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed that the evacuation operation was not finished, pointing to the inevitability of more Hercules rescue flights. He said: "Nothing is compete yet, we've definitely still got people there."

Cumberland frigate had left the rebel-held port of Benghazi in eastern Libya on Thursday carrying 207 passengers but was forced to travel at a reduced speed because of the rough weather in the Mediterranean.

The vessel carried citizens from more than 20 countries -- part of a vast multinational workforce in Libya that includes oil industry executives from Europe and the United States and migrant workers from Africa and Asia.earlier

25.2.11

In the next few hours INS Jalayashaya (USS Trenton) (L41) second largest ship of the Indian Navy India, and two destroyers will be dispatched from Mumbai to evacuate its citizens from Libya. 18,000 Indians are currently based in Libya, many of them work for construction companies. L41 can take 1000.

Philip J. Crowley, a State Department spokesman, said at least 167 Americans were on board the ferry Maria Dolores. The State Department has said 40 members of the United States Embassy as well as family members were among the passengers boatrded in Tripoli Libya which has now reached Valetta, malta.Overall length68.4mWaterline length58.8mBeam moulded18.2mHull depth moulded6.3mHull draft (maximum)2.6mDeadweight (maximum)260tPassengers600

23.2.11

Some 285 people have been sitting on the Maria Dolores, a chartered ferry, since Wednesday, as the ship's crew waits for the stormy seas to calm, according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says.Libyan authorities had been "cooperative" during embarkation at As-shahab port in central Tripoli located on the sea road across from the Radisson Blu Mahari Hotel. High seas have kept the boat in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. U.S. citizens are safe on board the boat. It will leave for Malta when weather permits. 68 metre vehicle-passenger ferry “Maria Dolores” which was delivered by Austal in 2006.9333448 MARIA DOLORES 9HBZ8 Passenger/Ferry 260 2006 Malta

HNLMS Tromp (F803), De Zeven Provinciën class frigate [very similar to the German Sachsen class], The air defence and command vessel, which left the Dutch navy base at Den Helder just two weeks ago - will now leave the Red Sea and pass through the Suez Canal once again over the next few days as it heads north. Should an air evacuation prove impossible or Libyan air space is closed again at some point in the near future, the HNLMS Tromp will be available to carry out an evacuation by sea.earlierand earlierstill earlier

A team of six UK officials has arrived in Libya's capital, Tripoli while HMS Cumberland departed from Crete. The frigate, which was commissioned in 1989, is one of four axed in the government’s Strategic Defence and Security Review in October last year. She is due to leave service in April this year.

Hostages were killed on their Davidson 58 Pilot House Sloop with a 500-foot USN destroyer nearby Americans, Jean and Scott Adam, from Southern California, and Phyllis Mackay and Robert A. Riggle, from Seattle, were sailing on SV Quest for the tiny nation of Djibouti to refuel when they were hijacked several hundred miles off the coast of Oman

20.2.11

Iran frigate DE 71 Alvand and replenishment ship 431 Kharg will passage the Suez Canal toward the Mediterranean Sea on February 21.The two ships will dock at the Syrian port of Latkia, the first Iranian naval ships to pass through the canal since Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979.

19.2.11

BP booked Helga Spirit to carry 100,000 metric tons of oil loading from the Russian Far East port of Kozmino, the delivery point for East Siberian Pipeline Oil. The West Coast area, known as the Petroleum Administration Defense District, or PADD 5, imported 105,000 barrels a day of Russian oil in October 2010, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. The region includes California, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. There are a little over 7 barrels of petroleum in a metric ton. Crude in London rose to the highest in more than two years as civil unrest spread in the Middle East. BP has about 500,000 barrels a day of refining capacity on the U.S. West Coast, including in Washington and California.

18.2.11

Insurers are weary of making massive payout and are taking the naval solution into their own hands - with the support of shipowners, freight operators, governments and navies. Leading figures in the London insurance industry have been working for two years on the Convoy Escort Program, which aims to provide protection for tankers and reduce the cost of insuring shipping operations.One of the key architects of the program is the marine, oil and gas division at Jardine Lloyd Thompson, a leading Lloyd's broker for companies seeking insurance protection, particularly for war risks and kidnap and ransom. JLT are one of the leading brokers in the class of War and Strikes Coverage and place some of the biggest and most complex war programmes in the world. A number of these programmes are unique to JLT.

Leading insurance advisers to the industry on combating the piracy crisis with key relationships with the Navy/Atalanta/CTF, USCG, maritime liaison officers, government representatives and shipping industry bodies to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience to reduce the impact of this overt criminal activity.

Bespoke kidnap and ransom products for owners, managers and charterers are unique in the insurance industry. Our piracy team collates up-to-date information from industry military and security sources and then works with insurers to provide the best solution for either vessel specific transits or global coverage.

We have handled more piracy incidents than any other broker and have become the leading insurance advisors to BIMCO, the Navy and various shipping associations on combating this crisis and protecting the related exposures from this peril.

Our proactive approach to this phenomenon and liaison with all parties at the highest level, who are concerned with this activity, gives us a unique understanding of the risk and its potential implications to Owners. This combined with the fact that we are one of the leading brokers in the world for war and strikes coverage enables us to offer a highly specialised service in this class of coverage.

15.2.11

• Tehran, Iran• Founded in 2008• Registered in MaltaISI Maritime Ltd. is the registered owner of the Sattar. According to IHS Fairplay, this company is a subsidiary of the IranoHind Shipping company, a company the United States Treasury Department has designated as linked to Irisl and therefore subject to sanctions. ISI Maritime also is a major shareholder in Isim Sinin Ltd. and Isim ATR Ltd., two other Irisl-linked companies.

Norwegian navy has sold its frigate Horten to a former military officer and UN captain, Svein Johnsen and an anonymous partner,will use it to keep pirates at bay. Financing for Clear Ocean was in place Clear Ocean, will include the frigate, up to eight new ships, six helicopters and a surveillance plane, to patrol the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia.

The vessels will be armed, and the helicopters will be used to localize pirates. Officially, Clear Ocean has a 10-year contract with the government of Somalia to protect Somalia’s fishing fleet. “We are to protect fishing vessels who will pay for the fishing rights which again will increase the revenue in the fisheries for the government,” Clear Ocean was “not in the business of chasing or arresting pirates” and that the weapons on board are “to protect our own assets and customers, if we are asked to protect Norwegian shipowners, we will of course do so,” for a price to be negotiated. Clear Ocean’s vessels will have a weapons system on board that can stop a boat from a distance of two kilometers. “If the pirates don’t stop before getting within 800 meters of us, they will be stopped,” The defense ministry said it had no qualms about the planned operations for the Horten, which even has served as a temporary royal yacht in Norway. “We are glad the ship was sold and we got a good price (NOK 45 million) for it.” “We have no opinions about how it will now be outfitted or used. We hope it can be used in a positive way in the area.” The boss of Norwegian shipowning company Stolt-Nielsen announced his family-owned firm now has armed guards on board Stolt-Nielsen vessels off the coast of Africa.

“We would gladly avoid having to do this, but we have no choice,” Niels G Stolt-Nielsen, “When we don’t have a convoy or patrol boats in the area, we’re hiring in armed guards from Yemen’s naval defense forces.”

Stolt-Nielsen called the pirates “terrorists,” and claimed that “the only language (they) understand is warning shots. Then they’ll back off.” He said armed guards are necessary. “There are people on board the ships who need to be protected,” he said, along with the value of the vessels and their cargoes.

Stolt-Nielsen, Frontline and Fred Olsen are trying to fight back. Frontline, controlled by tanker tycoon John Fredriksen, and veteran shipowner Fred Olsen are considering having armed staff on board, but won’t go into detail.

“We don’t have any weapons on board, not yet,” Olsen“the entire industry is drafting this now.” Olav Eikrem, technical director at Frontline also said he wouldn’t rule out having armed guards on board “soon.”

14.2.11

approximately 350 nautical miles East of Masirah (Oman) in the North Arabian Sea, having sent out a distress signal, saying she was under attack, February 12, USN aircraft photographed 2 suspected pirate skiffs on board the vessel, now headed for the Somali coast. 9274941 SININ 9HOD8 Bulker 52466 2005 Malta

Jun 12, 2002:- The Shipping Corporation of India will continue to be a partner with the Iranian government in the Irano Hind Shipping Co after disinvestment.

According to senior officials, New Delhi has conveyed to Teheran that it stands committed to the joint venture even after its privatisation which is expected to take place by next month.

SCI has a 49 per cent equity holding in the joint venture company which has a majority holding by the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.

Sources said the reassurance to the Iranian government has been informally conveyed since the joint venture was conceived as a government-to-government partnership way back in 1974.

The government has decided to offload 51 per cent equity in SCI in favour of a strategic partner while at the same time passing off 3.12 per cent shares to the employees. The government currently holds 80.12 per cent stake in the public sector shipping giant.

Subsidiary of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL - see separate entity record); listed in Annex III of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1929 of June 9, 2010, requiring states to freeze its assets within their territories and to prevent assets from being made available to it (with some exceptions); on September 10, 2008, added to the Specially Designated National (SDN) list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), freezing its assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting transactions with U.S. parties, pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems; according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, IRISL and affiliates provide logistical services to Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL - see separate entity record); owns six oceangoing vessels transporting crude oil and bulk and general cargo; subsidiaries include ISI Maritime Limited and Jaladhi Shipping Services (India) Private Limited; other subsidiaries reportedly include BIIS Maritime, Imir Ltd., and Isim Atr Ltd.; established as a joint venture between IRISL (51 percent) and Shipping Corporation of India-SCI (49 percent); reportedly established in 1975; commercial director is Ardasheer Yousefi.

13.2.11

The Irene SL’s cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil represents nearly 20% (one fifth) of total U.S. daily crude oil imports. This one cargo is 12% of all oil coming out of the Middle East Gulf each day, and 5% of total daily world seaborne oil supply.

"Underwriters are paying far more attention to the security measures taken by owners. We can negotiate a discount off the price of financial protection against attacks by Somali pirates for those measures being put in place."

The most widely used on-board defenses against piracy include razor wire and so-called citadels - secure rooms with communications equipment into which crew members can retreat while remaining in control of the vessel until naval forces arrive.Ship owners typically buy marine kidnap and ransom cover in the Lloyd's of London market, insuring themselves against the cost of raising and delivering multi-million dollar ransom payments.insurers are likely to step up their demands that ships operating in pirate-infested waters take physical precautions against attacks. Hiscox is the biggest provider of marine K and R in the Lloyd's market. In 2006 Hiscox plc moved its country of domicile from the United Kingdom to Bermuda, adopting the new name Hiscox LtdInsurers are reluctant to disclose the size of marine K and R premiums or claims for fear that pirates will use the information to set their ransom demands, with any increase potentially setting off an inflationary spiral. Prices initially rose strongly in the face of strong demand before levelling off last year because of increased competition as more insurers entered the market, attracted by the bumper profits on offer.

11.2.11

Pirates operating some 1,000 miles off the coast of Somalia, 350 nautical miles South East of Muscat hijacked IRENE SL with 266,000 tons of crude, haunting waters previously considered safe. Crease/gap between USN and EU NAVFOR? "These are worthwhile targets for the pirates, who are feeling their way forward," ."We don't know how it will develop but the trend is toward an increasing number of pirate attacks,"

Brokers estimate sales of marine kidnap & ransom policies have risen to about $125 million a year since 2008, when the products were first developed in response to an upsurge in vessel seizures and ransom demands off the cost of Somalia. "Damage claims have been rising faster than premiums can be adjusted up to now," Berg said, warning that losses could be much greater and might involve damage to the environment in the event of a sinking.

With 40 naval warships now patrolling the Gulf of Aden and waters off East Africa, pirates are shifting their attention further afield, including towards the Strait of Hormuz, through which pass around 40 percent of the world's oil shipments by sea.Ransom payments have shot up over the last five years and now average around $4.5 million TO $5 million per ship, from around $150,000 to $300,000 previously. Hostages now spend an average of four months in captivity, a month longer than before.The economic cost of piracy has been estimated at $7 billion to $12 billion per year, with shippers facing rising insurance costs that threaten to boost commodity prices.

Munich Re's premiums in the transport segment total around 1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), of which only a fraction is piracy-related.Munich Re

10.2.11

Somalia agreed to take over the remains of the eight pirates killed by ROKN seals and South Korea agreed to pay for transporting them. Seoul is considering various transportation means, including chartering a cargo plane. It is expected to take at least a week to complete the process.

The bodies were being kept in a refrigerator aboard the 11,500-ton Samho Jewelry after the Jan. 21 rescue operation to free the cargo ship and its 21 crew members. Five other pirates were captured and all of the crew were rescued alive, though the captain was seriously wounded.

The chemical carrier has since moved to the Omani port of Muscat and is stationed there. On February 9, the bodies were removed from the ship and taken to a police hospital mortuary in Oman. The freighter planned to leave the port later February 10.Yonhap

9.2.11

- South Korea is considering forging agreements with some neighboring countries of Somalia to seek their help in handling captured pirates, an official said Wednesday.

The move came after Seoul was unable to find a country willing to accept the five pirates captured in last month's commando operation to free the South Korean freighter Samho Jewelry and its 21-member crew.

The pirates were then brought to South Korea for investigation and trial.Yonhap

8.2.11

Dolphin Tanker is a joint venture between Luigi D'Amato , President of Fratelli D'Amato International group and Paolo Scerni, President of Scerni Group. Dolphin Tanker s.r.l. is a 50% joint venture between Scerni Group and Fratelli D'Amato S.p.a. Il Cavaliere del Lavoro (Knight of Labor) Luigi D’Amato serves as the President. Fratelli D'Amato Spa is fully owned by Luigi D'Amato, who is also the sole administrator.Dolphin Tankers – a joint venture between Luigi D’Amato, president of Fratelli D’Amato International Group, and Paolo Scerni, president of Scerni Group - which presently owns 6 tankers, might come to an end by mutual consent. Although neither of the partner were willing to comment, it seems that at the root of this decision there are different strategic views. These would include the fate of the 3 VLCCs ordered in summer 2008 from the Korean shipyard STX (whose delivery is confirmed at the moment but delayed to 2013 and 2014), compounded with the current poor shape of the liquid bulk market.Not even a personal letter from Paolo Scerni’s father, Gianni, to Luigi D’Amato, was able to remedy the disagreement between the two presidents. Banks which granted credit lines for the ships in the past years – i.e., Milan-based Centrobanca, Genoa-based Banca Carige, and Deutsche Bank AG – have been informed of the ongoing restructuring, necessary in order to preserve the earnings from a pool of ships which made last year a 4 million euros profit.Most probably, the break-up of Dolphin Tankers will include the even split of its fleet, currently made of 3 pairs of sisterships. They are the 72,300 dwt Panamaxes White Dolphin and Blue Dolphin, built in 2003, which were offered last March to the Chilean oil company Empresa Nacional del Petrolio for 32 million dollars in a bid eventually won by another owner, and the 4 Aframaxes of Chinese make, i.e., 104,225 dwt Enrica Lexie and Savina Caylyn Shanghai built in 2008 at the Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding shipyard, and 109,000 dwt D.T. Mariano and D.T. Vincenzo P. built in 2009 at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding shipyard. Given their young age and the ongoing market prices, these four ships are likely the most alluring to investors with adequate financial means.

D'Amato browse the daisy on the third maxi-tankerThe owner, partner in Dolphin Scerni Tankers, has not yet exercised the option to mate the two Korean VLCC There is no 'in threes? . Not necessarily, or at least not yet, to hear the people involved in the case that concerns the relations between the Italian Tankers Dolphin is the most 'popular with Korean yards - at least in our country, judging from the harvest of crops orders tricolor - STX Shipyards. In fact, not 'yet been completed on the contract for the third maxi-tanker to follow the two VLCC Very Large Crude Carrier 320,000 DWT that the binomial Fratelli d'Amato-Scerni (Partners in Dolphin Tankers) had set a few months ago (n Ship2Shore . 28/2008), propitiated by the broker of Neapolitan Aldo Frulio Unitramp, because today is not 'formally exercised the option."It 's too early to speak of a third VLCC since' nothing, 'defined as" confirmation response from Asia, where and' engaged in various business appointments, Cav. Luigi D'Amato. Luigi D'Amato "Price levels in debate - there are rumors of an investment's value at around $ 150 million, Ed - are more 'high and eventually there will be' a right to privacy."If and when it will be 'signed the contract, the unit' should be completed near the first two, planned for delivery in 2011.. Meanwhile, the owner is from Naples 'enjoy' the current situation of uncertainty and despair that animates the shipping market, bolstered by a prudent and forward-looking strategy. "Those of us who have been sold in a timely 7 bulkers can today 'seize opportunity' on the fluid and supply vessels - areas which are still in good health because 'more reflective of the real economy - and also in other market segments.The speculative bubble in the dry cargo and 'loud bang was not only visible in the eyes of those who do not want to see, hoping to rake in profits for a long time The recovery will be 'slow and no more' use by those who declare 'default in the coming months "and' the merciless diagnosis of D'Amato."We completed the hiring of Red Garden, and for two years each, 2 Aframax: Alpine Alaska (together 'coated newbuilding 105,000 dwt) to $ 33,000 per day, SC, and Laura (together' in 2001 to 109,000 dwt) to 31,000 dollars a day.

ITALY’S Dolphin Tankers has had its assets split up by its co-owners. The venture between Luigi D’Amato, president of Fratelli D’Amato International, and Paolo Scerni, president of Scerni, was formed in 2002. Since then, it has owned eight Panamaxes and four Aframaxes, with three 320,000dwt VLCCs still on order at STX yard in South Korea. Six of the Panamaxes were sold before the company was dissolved. The companies have agreed that D’Amato will take two of the Aframaxes and two of the VLCCs on order. Scerni will receive the two remaining Panamaxes and one of the VLCCs. It has also paid $20M to Fratelli D’Amato to balance the deal.

6.2.11

China Maritime Search and Rescue Center (MSA) said Feb. 6 that the ship has never been hijacked, and is now sailing safely with escort of the Chinese anti-piracy navy fleet.

Tien Hau, which was registered in Hong Kong, China, had been followed by a suspicious boat for a while, but it was never attacked or hijacked. Earlier, Yemeni Interior Ministry had said the ship was hijacked by pirates some 20 kilometers off the Yemeni island of Al-Tair off the city port of al-Hudaida, and was heading to Somali coast.

Related:SANAA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Somali pirates hijacked a ship off Yemen's western city port of al-Hudaida in the Red Sea, Chinese military attache to Yemen confirmed The Chinese military confirmed that the ship, which was registered in Hong Kong, China, had been hijacked by the Somali pirates off the Yemeni coast. 9143312 TIEN HAU VRYK3 General Cargo Ship 18299 1996 Hong Kong

Fenwick Shipping Services Ltd. is a bulk cargo shipping company operating out of Hong Kong with a fleet of five modern dry bulk carriers concentrating on the Asia and Oceania region.

First established in 1973 as Wheelock Marine Chartering, the company’s name was changed to Fenwick Shipping Services Ltd. in 1985 and now has representative offices in Sydney, Australia and Pune, India.

Fenwick Shipping Services Ltd was established in Hong Kong in 1972. It is capitalised at HK$5,000,000. Its two shareholders, Antony L Marden and Oistein H Thorsen, both have over 20 years shipping experience. The company is a shipping agent acting on behalf of principals as chartering and sale and purchase brokers. It offers technical and commercial management as well as extensive consultancy services in shipping related fields. The company's market orientation concentrates on modern grabfitted small handysize dry bulk carriers in the Asia/Oceania region.The company has close relationship with National Marine Corporation of the Philippines andBlantica Shipping in Indonesia which enables it to provide a comprehevsive service to customers who wish to trade in these countries.

2.2.11

A COURT in Russia's far northern region of Arkhangelsk is hearing testimony from six men accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea, a cargo ship, in 2009, the bizarre disappearance of which prompted international speculation about a secret Russian arms sale to the Middle East gone awry. seeAlexei Bartenev, the brother of one of the defendants, says the case remains a mystery. Why Russia flew the eight alleged hijackers and some of the crew - 16 people in all - were flown from Canary Islands to Russia on two large Ilyushin-76 cargo planes capable of carrying 40 tons each, if not also to carry weapons or other illicit cargo. "All I can say is that it's very suspicious." Economistearlierand then